This is Progress

I placed my order today. New CPU and motherboard. I reported earlier that I thought my CPU was going bad. I had several memory modules which were showing errors under memtest86+ when placed in my system but not when placed in my wife's system. According to the memtest86+ docs such problems could be caused by problems with the L1/L2 cache (on the CPU) or the memory controller (on the CPU for some CPUs, separate for others).

One way to do further diagnosis would be to try another CPU in the same motherboard. If the problems exist with the new CPU then try another motherboard but with the original CPU. The power supply (P/S or PSU depending on your religion) could also be a culprit. Of course, I don't have spare components hanging around and don't know anyone who does. So trying components means buying components. That can cost money, if they can even be found.

I went looking for a new CPU and discovered that they are not generally available. I'm talking AMD Athlon XP in the low 2000+ range (Socket A). Oh, I found a few — for shockingly high prices (supply & demand, I suppose). I wasn't willing to spend that kind of moola for a relatively old, slow chip. I even checked to see if my mobo maker (Soyo) offered a newer BIOS that would support faster chips in the Athlon XP line. They didn't. :-(

So I felt compelled to go for a new CPU/motherboard combo. For religious reasons I want an AMD Athlon 64 CPU. Don't ask why — it's a matter of faith which simply cannot be challenged or discussed rationally. ;-)

The problem I faced next is that the DIY computer biz caters to a community of geeks who have to have the latest, greatest, sexiest thing out there. The result is that anything older (i.e. over 1 year old) becomes very hard to find. And in the past year or so we have a new graphics bus (PCI Express x16, replacing AGP), new chipsets (e.g. nForce4 replacing nForce3, K8T890 replacing K8T800), new memory (DDR2 replacing DDR), new disk drive interface (SATA replacing PATA), and a new power supply connector (24-pin replacing 20-pin).

Yep, I have an AGP graphics card, DDR memory, ATA disks, and a 20-pin connector on my ATX PSU. And I want to reuse them all to save money. So I go looking for motherboards using chipsets which support my stuff, and motherboards using them.

Yeah, you're right again. Both nForce4 and K8T890 chipsets (the newer ones), don't support AGP graphics. And motherboards using them don't support 20-pin ATX power connectors. On the bright side, AMD still uses DDR memory and all motherboards still have a couple of PATA (IDE) connectors. Causing consternation, however, is that while they loudly brag about booting off SATA disks, they fail to mention booting from PATA disks (surely they wouldn't drop that capability — they still boot from floppy, after all).

I found several interesting motherboards that fit my needs, but when I went to find e-tailers who carried them I kept coming up empty-handed. Case in point, the DFI LanParty UT nF3 Ultra-D. The manufacturer's website labels it as NEW, but no one sells it anymore (it's actually old).

I finally ended up choosing an MSI K8N Neo2-F motherboard with an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor. Should arrive next week. Then I'll put it together and test my memory (again).